


Do You See What I See?

by Voidcoffee



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, Glasses, M/M, dont @ me over the rice pudding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 18:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14361084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Voidcoffee/pseuds/Voidcoffee
Summary: Caleb shows Molly a world he's never seen before.





	Do You See What I See?

Mollymauk had always seemed a bit squinty. Everyone he met just assumed it was one of those Molly things, like his extravagant way of dress or his flashing smiles. He never seemed to struggle to see, nothing out of the ordinary anyway. Everyone misses a swing at an enemy every once in a while. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing strange, nothing that seemed a problem. Even if you were to ask him about it, about the way he squinted during battle and outside of it, about the way he would always get someone else to read documents, he would say it was because of his lack of sunlight during his childhood. It made it hard to see in the bright light of the world around him. Now, whether that was another Mollymauk Patented Lie or not did not matter. He’d never tell you either way.

* * *

 

The Mighty Nein was staying in an inn again. To its credit, this one was a lot fancier than the last one. For one, the doors didn’t seem to be fodder for the termites. For two, well, there was actually an option for a two person room. The other place had that too, but there it meant one person slept on the floor, hoping the planks wouldn’t give away beneath them while they slept. If it weren’t the termites, it was the mold or the various scrapes and cuts from weapons. Sleeping really was more of a hazard than staying awake. Now, here, in The Red Goose, situations were a lot better. The room with two beds was spacious, and the beds were soft and surprisingly warm despite the cold spring air sneaking in through open windows. The beds were also easy to move together, as Mollymauk and Caleb found out.

 

They entered their room some time past midnight. It had been a hassle trying to explain to the elderly lady behind the counter that they didn’t want a group room. Then again, who could blame her - The Mighty Nein had become a close bunch after all. As Caleb opened the door to their room, Frumpkin zigzagged his way around the men’s legs and into the room. Caleb practically ran to the bed closest to him and let himself fall on top of it, groaning loudly as the soft bedding made his aching back and feet feel a lot better. Molly couldn’t help but smile at the sight as he carefully set down his swords in cloth on the windowsill. 

 

“You wanna move the beds together then?” Molly asked, leaning his elbows in between his swords and looking out the window.

“I want to rest, Molly, and you should too. That beast got you good.” Molly looked at the cuts across his arms and chest. Some of them were his, most weren’t. He shrugged it off - just a bad day, nothing more.

“I’ll be fine, darling,” he said, getting ready to push his bed next to Caleb’s, “though I would appreciate a little help with this.”

Muttering under his breath, Caleb stood up, his body complaining at every move he made. He walked over to his lover and placed a quick kiss on his horn before helping drag the bed into place. The scraping sound it made seemed to echo through the entire building and, for a split second, the men were worried the floor was going to give way beneath them as they were awake, not as they slept like in the last inn they stayed at. Luckily, the rest of The Mighty Nein seemed to prefer minding their own business right now, which, especially for Jester, was a first. Then again, that beast they fought earlier really got a few good hits in on all of them. Rest was nothing but logical.

 

Molly fluttered down upon the bed, graceful like the peacock he was. Before Caleb could join his lover, Frumpkin jumped up and nestled himself in between the two pillows. Molly chuckled softly as Caleb shook his head.

“Geh weg, Kätzchen,” he said as he picked Frumpkin up and put him down on the ground. “You know you’re only allowed on the bed when it’s just us.”

“Should I be worried?” Molly joked, his signature grin beaming on his face. 

“Only if you’re allergic to pillows full of cat hair,” Caleb replied. Molly squinted; no hairs that he could see. Caleb picked a few from the pillow to prove his point.

“Ah. I see,” Molly replied, not seeing much of anything at all.

 

Caleb snuggled up to his lover, breathing warm air into his neck, followed by kisses as gentle as summer rain. Molly wrapped his arm around him, holding him. They stayed like that for a while, Caleb’s head in the curve of Molly’s neck. Caleb was the first to break the spell.

“I think I’ll read a bit. I still have that one book Jester got me,” he looked into Molly’s dark red eyes, “You can read along if you want to? I’ll read slowly.”

There was no way Molly could say no to him, so before long, they were both sitting up. Caleb held the book on his lap. This time, it was Molly’s head cradled in the other’s neck. Well, as much as he could without stabbing him with his horns, that is. As they read (or pretended to read), Caleb would push his glasses up every once in a while and Molly’s mind would wander just long enough for him to finish the page. It wasn’t obvious, Molly thought.

 

“You’re not reading,” Caleb stated. Molly couldn’t tell with what emotion he said that. As he would soon find out, it was concern. Before he could reply, Caleb asked: “How are you feeling? The beast didn’t hit your face, did it?” 

“I- What? No,” he replied, shaking his head. He frowned. “And I am reading.”   
“ _ Oh yeah _ ? What’s the last sentence you read?” teased Caleb. Molly could feel his heart beat in his throat and sweat form on his brow. Digging his nails into his trousers, he leaned towards the book. He squinted. And squinted. And squinted some more. Yet, somehow, the letters didn’t appear. He cleared his throat, leaning ever closer to the book, until suddenly he felt a warm hand on his chest, pushing him back. He stared into the bright blue eyes of his partner, felt the kindness beaming from his smile. And still, what he felt most of all, was embarrassment.

 

Caleb had seen how Molly kept squinting, how he kept leaning in further. He recognised it. He saw himself, about twenty years ago. The little boy with unkempt hair, scruffy clothing and dirt under his fingernails. The little boy with tired, squinty eyes. He was thirteen when he was gifted his first pair of glasses by a shopkeeper he’d done various small tasks for. It was a wonderful moment. For the first time, he could see the world in the details it was meant to be seen in. He made it his point to teach himself how to read. It took him a while, but he managed. He saw himself in Molly at that moment.

 

He knew.

 

Caleb cupped his lover’s face with one hand, as he took off his glasses with the other. Their faces were so close together that even without his glasses, he could see the little lines in Molly’s face. The same lines that appear whenever something jumped him. They spelled out nervousness. As he put his glasses on Molly’s face, he leaned in and kissed him. The kiss was like rice pudding: simple and sweet. As Caleb let go off him, Molly’s eyes stayed closed for a little while longer. He didn’t know why, but he feared what he was going to see. Some part of him screamed that seeing the world clearer, would mean seeing his past clearer. Seeing the life of a person who wasn’t him. He feared. 

 

But fear never stopped him before. He opened his eyes and let the world fill his vision. First came the big puzzle pieces, like the fields of color. Then came the somewhat smaller pieces, like the oil lamps on the bedside table or the flowers on the windowsill. Then the details marched in. A whole new world. A new fantastic point of view. He knew, instantly, that he’d been blind his entire life. And Caleb of all people, dear, _ incredible _ Caleb, had shown him that world.

 

Molly squeezed Caleb’s hand, his breath faltering for a moment as he looked around the room. Every detail a normal person would be unbothered by, he looked at as if it were a work of art. The cracks in the floorboards, stains on the wallpaper, the little dick scratched into the bedside cabinet which told him Jester had been there at some point. He looked at his lover. Finally, he could see the birthmark on his cheek, the scar above his eyebrow, the specks of icy blue around his pupil. Molly knew he would never have to see another work of art in his entire life. Once more, their lips intertwined like ivy on a tree. Molly’s fingers meandered through his lover’s hair. When they finally let go, they knew the world would never look the same way again.

 


End file.
